Ex-con says state prisons are failing
By Christopher Moore / Tribune Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 8, 2004WALTHAM -- Robert Dellelo believes Massachusetts
prisons are creating more problems than they are solving. It is a claim
he does not make lightly. Having spent 46 of his 63 years in those prisons,
he is somewhat of an expert.
In 1983, Dellelo was sentenced to 40 years
in prison for manslaughter and attempted armed robbery because his co-defendant
shot a police officer. Since his release in November 2003, Dellelo has
been working with groups such as the American Friends Service Committee
and the City Mission Society to change the prison system he believes to
be "a failure."

City Mission trains ex-offenders to travel
and go on speaking engagements and educate the public, a mission that brought
Dellelo to the First Parish Unitarian-Universalist in Waltham last night.
Dressed sharply in a black suit with blue pinstripes -- which he joked
made him look like either a mobster or a federal agent -- Dellelo spoke
passionately to a crowd of 50 people about the system that he has been
in for more than 70 percent of his life.
Dellelo's prison life began at age 13, at
the Lyman School for Boys in Westborough, the first reform school in the
nation. While there, he and other boys were subjected to violence and molestation
at the hands of those who were charged with their care. They also acquired
new skills like car theft and lock-picking, along with an intense anger
and hatred for authority.
"Reform schools were places that taught violence,"
said Dellelo. "In Massachusetts, your killers, your mobsters came through
these institutions."
Though state-run reform schools were shut
down in the 1970s, Dellelo said today's prisons are just as bad. He described
them as being run by guards who have no desire to make productive members
of society out of the inmates, only to punish them for being in prison.
Despite being required by state statute to
rehabilitate prisoners, Massachusetts prisons are systematically removing
all of their educational opportunities, he said. Walpole State Prison,
which he spent time in, no longer offers any education beyond a GED, the
equivalent of a high school diploma. The prison has also gutted its legal
library, Dellelo said, replacing dozens of legal s with general library
books.
"I had entered the prison with a seventh-grade
education," said Dellelo. "I got a bachelor's degree in sociology while
in Walpole. That can't be done anymore."
Even if an inmate is able to educate himself,
Dellelo argued that CORI checks -- criminal background checks done prior
to employment -- often prevent that inmate from using his new skills and
contributing to society. Having a criminal record also prevents ex-con
senior citizens from getting public housing.
Dellelo advocated doing away with prison sentences
for 93 percent of offenders, saying what most offenders need is rehabilitation
from drugs, help with behavioral issues or education. He argued that, at
an average price tag of $43,000 per prisoner per year, the state simply
cannot afford to keep putting people in prison for nonviolent crimes like
smoking marijuana or stealing a car. Especially not when the abuse and
neglect one faces in prison can lead to more crime - not less - in the
future.
Newton resident Jean Bone, who worked as an
educator in the Pennsylvania prison system for 16 years, said she was shocked
to hear Dellelo's characterization of Massachusetts prisons.
"Recidivism (repeat offenses) goes down when
you educate people," said Bone. "I am surprised that in Massachusetts there
is not access to an updated law library at least once a week. It's inhumane.
What you're doing is re-punishing them."
Waltham resident Dan Burkart said Dellelo's
desire to abolish the majority of prison sentences sounded like "a pretty
good idea."
"They don't sound like they're working that
well," Burkart said.
When audience members pressed Dellelo for
actions they could take, he advised calling state senators and representatives.
He urged them to express dissatisfaction with the CORI laws that prevent
ex-cons from getting jobs, and he told them to pressure legislators to
shift the state's focus from punishment to rehabilitation.
"You cannot take a human being, shake him,
and think he's going to be anything but an enraged human being," said Dellelo.

( Christopher Moore can be reached at cmoore@cnc.com or 781-398-8009.
)

WORCESTER-- Pope John Paul II's representative to the United States
has agreed with the findings of an investigation conducted by the Catholic
Diocese of Worcester that cleared Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger of
allegations he sexually molested a teen-age boy at Our Lady of Lourdes
parish in the early 1960s.
Local diocesan officials said Archbishop Gabriel
Montalvo -- the papal nuncio to the United States -- has maintained an
ongoing dialogue with Worcester Bishop Daniel P. Reilly since Sime J. Braio,
a 52 year-old Shrewsbury man, reported earlier this year that he had been
molested by Bishop Rueger.
Vatican officials could not be reached for
comment. Diocesan spokesman Raymond L. Delisle said Archbishop Montalvo
-- Rome's highest emissary in the United States -- agreed there was no
substance to the charges.
A civil suit was filed on Mr. Braio's behalf
Thursday in Worcester Superior Court against Bishop Rueger and the diocese.
It alleges that the molestation began when Mr. Braio was 13 and continued
when he was older.
According to the suit, the sexual abuse resulted
in behavior that eventually landed Mr. Braio in the former Lyman School
for Boys in Westboro.
Mr. Braio said Bishop Rueger was given permission
by school administrators to take him away for weekend outings at the bishop's
family's home in Scituate, where, he alleged, he was abused further.
Yesterday, at a press conference in front
of the Chancery Building on Elm Street, Bishop Rueger vehemently denied
the charges.
“These allegations are totally unfounded,”
said Bishop Rueger, who was surrounded by supportive Chancery officials
and staff.
Bishop Rueger said he met Mr. Braio when he
was asked to make a “hospital call” while the teen was living at the Lyman
School. That was the only time that he had contact with Mr. Braio, he said.
“My greater pain,” the bishop said, “comes
today from the fact that all of my life -- 72 years -- I have been a part
of this diocese, and in all those years I have had the support of my family,
my friends, and I have been able to minister to so many people.
“I love the priesthood,” he added. “I could
never compromise the priesthood. It has been the joy of my life, and I
have undertaken all of my ministry with an energy and an enthusiasm that
God gave me.”
Monsignor Thomas J. Sullivan, the diocesan
chancellor, reiterated the diocese's position that Mr. Braio tried at least
three times to extort up to $10,000 from the church in exchange for not
going public with his allegations.
In addition to the diocesan inquiry, Mr. Braio's
allegations also were investigated by Worcester District Attorney John
J. Conte's office and state police and could not be substantiated.
The DA's office is investigating the diocese's
complaints about the alleged extortion attempts.
Unlike six other priests who were removed
from public ministry after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against
them, diocesan officials said Bishop Rueger continued his duties after
Mr. Braio took his complaints to the Chancery.
Officials said that only the pope could remove
or suspend Bishop Rueger, adding that Vatican officials found no evidence
to warrant such action.

Instead of Prisons Table of Contents > Chapter 5
5. DECARCERATE
In Illinois, a newspaper reporter asked a number of persons both inside
and outside prisons: "What would happen if Illinois opened the gates of
all its prisons tomorrow and let everyone out?"
Hans Mattick, criminologist: "If the prisons were opened tomorrow it
wouldn't make any difference. The fear of crime is a greater problem than
objective crime itself.

For every 100 serious crimes reported, 25 men are arrested, 12 are convicted
and three end up in prison. If you let those three out of prison, would
it make a difference in the crime rate? Not a tremendous difference."

Richard J. Fitzgerald, Cook County Criminal Court Judge: "I'm sure if
everyone were released I'd have a few more customers the next morning.
But with screening for the most violent offenders, the most dangerous criminal,
a general amnesty might work. The violent offender is a minority anyway.Ó

Peter Kotsos, chairman of the Illinois Parole and Pardon Board: "Well
the first thing that would happen is that we'd save a lot of money. But
it would be chaotic not to send the vicious criminal away. But I'd say
we could divert about 70 percent of the men currently in prison to other
places."

William Stave y, convicted murderer: "There would be some chaos, but
the vast majority of the men would do nothing. You'd never see 80 percent
of them again."

Vernon Housewright, warden of Vienna prison: "I really doubt if the
crime rate would increase that much. I think the Gideon decision showed
us that ... I don't say tear down all the walls. But I admit that some
prisons may do more harm than good."

-Roger Simon, Chicago Sun Times, April 11, 1975

Many wardens, "correctional" professionals, prisoners and others close
to the criminal (in)justice systems believe that 50 to 90 percent of prisoners
presently incarcerated in jails and prisons could be released to society
without any threat to the public:

Even prison administrators do not believe in the institution they are
administering. A few years ago, while attending the annual meeting of the
American Correctional Association, I found myself in a hospitality suite
in a San Francisco hotel, chatting with a roomful of very relaxed prison
administrators. Each man headed a major prison institution; all were veterans
in the business; none were "bleeding hearts," "soft" on crime or naive
about criminals. I asked the warden sitting next to me what percentage
of the people under his supervision needed to be in prison in order to
protect society from personal injury About 10 to 15percent," he said. We
canvassed the other wardens in the room; none disagreed. Since then, on
visits to numerous prisons around the country and abroad, I have always
asked the same question. I have never received a different answer.

-Ronald Goldfarb, Look, July 27, 1971

Carl G. Hocker, then captain in charge of custody at San Quentin . ..
now warden of the Nevada State Prison, known through out the system as
a stern disciplinarian and tight custody man . . .told me that he thought
the figure 80 percent was too low, and that in his opinion 90 percent of
the people in prison do not belong there.

-Benjamin Dreyfus, quoted in Kind and Usual Punishment, pp. 285-86

The employment of imprisonment and other criminal sanctions must accordingly
be sharply curtailed. Indeed the release of the majority of the prison
population, coupled with the provision of community programs and services,
would not increase the danger to the public, and ultimately would enhance
public safety.

-A Program for Prison Reform, p. 9

All too often critics respond to the notion of phasing out the prisons
by describing the nightmare cases, the three-time rapist or murderer. Anyone
can imagine someone who must be incarcerated, but that is no reason to
legitimate all incarceration. The issue should be to discover how many
persons now inside can be let out, without worrying yet about the hard
core. Probably 50 to 70 percent of inmates in state prisons could safely
be returned to the community.

-David Rothman, The Nation, March 19, 1973

Despite the overwhelming agreement that the majority of prison/jail
populations can be safely phased out, federal and state prisons and local
and county jail populations soared to an all-time high during 1975-1976.
Strategies for shutting off the flow at the other end-into the prisons-will
be proposed in Chapter 6, Excarcerate. Here we will begin to seriously
examine how we work toward decarceration-getting the present population
out of the cages.

Strategies for decarceration
At the First National Prisoners Conference, Dr. Don C. Gibbons, Chairman
of the Department of Sociology at Portland State University and former
Director of the Staff Training School of Oskalla Prison Farm in Canada,
[1] proposed a decarceration strategy based on the availability of services
in the community. Next to public threat, he views the major factor in calculating
priority for release, the level of need required by the ex-prisoner. If
there is no place the decarcerated can go to receive real help, "he and
we may have to wait until there is."
Gibbons' decarceration strategy would divide prisoners into three groups:

(1) The essentially law-abiding citizens who are not pursuing criminal
careers and need no more in the way of social services than those generally
available presently. These represent about 50 percent and if let out promptly,
money saved could be used to strengthen existing community services.

(2) Professional criminals. These represent about 40 percent and need
special services which can never be provided in the penal setting. Such
services are beginning to be made available for selected prisoners in work
release centers and other alternatives with some degree of supervision.

(3) The few for whom violence is a main mode of expression, judged to
be about ten percent. The public has every right to be protected, but that
is no excuse for relentlessly punishing the offender as is done now. Secure
but supportive surroundings are needed in urban centers where community
resources can be drawn upon. These facilities are not now available in
the U.S. and must be developed.

Thus, rather than devising a strategy of systematically classifying
prisoners for release by using the old categories of first-timer versus
recidivist, the unviolent versus the violent, the misdemeanant versus the
felon, Gibbons has calculated on the basis of the sufficiency of community
services.

In the fourth category, Gibbons' orderly abolition of the prison focusses
on the thousands of unconvicted who are imprisoned for long periods prior
to trial. He advocates the end of money bail and the immediate release
of those imprisoned while awaiting trial, estimated at 52 percent of the
total jail population.

A second strategy for decarcerating prisons was enthusiastically cheered
at the First National Conference on Alternatives to Incarceration.[2] Ira
Lowe, for 25 years a Washington, D. C. trial lawyer and civil libertarian,
whose clients have ranged from antiwar activist Tom Hayden to John Ehrlichman
of Watergate, briefly outlined a ten-year release time-plan. Basing rapidity
of release on potential threat to public safety, he prefaced his remarks
by pointing out that "the judiciary and all of us must accept the fact
that there is no such thing as good and bad torture; no such thing as a
good prison. We must accept the fact that they must be emptied. Once we
set that as a goal we can begin to act."

Lowe's plan calls for (1) a moratorium on all prison sentences beginning
immediately. (2) Attorneys and judges would propose and structure alternative
sanctions. (3) Victimless crimes would carry no more sentences. (4) No
prison sentences at all would be allowed until the government proves beyond
a reasonable doubt that they have tried alternatives unsuccessfully. (5)
Attorneys would be required to present alternatives to the court and (6)
all probation reports would recommend alternatives.

Lowe further advocated dividing current inmates into four classes with
an equal number of task forces of law enforcement officials, aided by citizens,
assigned to administer a weeding out process and administration of punishments.
Each task force to start at once:

(1) The first group-approximately 15 to 20 percent of the prison population-perpetrators
of "victimless crimes" such as gambling, prostitution, marijuana use and
homosexuality-would be identified and released from prison immediately.
Release of this group should take less than a year.

(2) The second group-between 45 and 55 percent of the prison population-persons
who even prison officials would clearly consider releasable, offenders
of nonviolent crimes such as crimes against property without weapons or
violence, would be released from prison and allowed to complete their term
of sentence by performing a public service to society and, where applicable,
specific restitution to their victim(s). This task force could accomplish
its purpose within five years.

(3) Lowe believes that of the remaining 30 percent, about half are borderline
cases and eventually releasable. The third task force, then, would cull
out this 15 percent for in-community sanctions, "not taking chances of
releasing anyone who is a physical danger." Lowe recommends a seven year
weeding out process for this group.

(4) The fourth group, the final 15 percent, should be given full medical
and psychological study. In the new environment some knowledge may result
on how to deal with such persons and hopefully how to prevent others from
following their patterns. A ten year transition period for this last group's
transfer would be required. And the prisons could be closed.

Decarcerating a juvenile prison system
We have examined two strategies for decarceration: one based on availability
of services in the community and the other on perceived safety of the public.
A third approach to decarceration is illustrated by the unprecedented and
creative experiment that occurred in the juvenile prison system in Massachusetts
in 1972.[3] It involves a rare combination of ingredients-not easily duplicated.
In the beginning, there was no grand design or very much prior planning
for closing down the juvenile training schools in Massachusetts. The ingredients
present for permitting the decarceration to become a reality included:
A governor who wanted a new and humane way of dealing with children committed
to the state's care. Progressive legislation which created a Department
of Youth Services (DYS) under a super agency of human services and empowered
the DYS commissioner to place youth in any institution or program. Key
media support. Active child advocate groups. A new, creative commissioner,
Dr. Jerome Miller.

Dr. Miller was appointed in October 1969. Quickly he became convinced
that the juvenile institutions in Massachusetts could not be humanized.
He proceeded one by one to shut them down:

August 1970, the Institute for Juvenile Guidance at Bridgewater Correctional
Unit was closed. This institution had handled the most difficult and obstreperous
youth in the system. Most of the 60 boys were sent home on parole; 12 who
had been committed for major violent crimes were housed in a cottage on
the grounds of Lyman School.
March 1971, the entire population of Oakdale, boys seven to twelve,
was paroled.
By April 1971, the average time served in training schools had been
cut from eight months to three months. The average daily population had
dropped from 1,200 youths to under 400.
December 1971, the Industrial School for Boys at Shirley was closed.
Most of the children were paroled; a few were transferred to Lyman. As
part of his public information campaign, Dr. Miller and some of the youngsters
sledgehammered the bars of the segregation cells in the disciplinary unit.
January 1972, with only 20 days of planning, Lyman school was closed.
Arrangements were made to house the 39 youths temporarily in a dorm at
the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
The remaining male juveniles in custody-60 youths from Lancaster Training
School and two reception centers, Westfield and Roslindale-were also sent
to the University of Massachusetts. They remained there for a month, each
working with a student advocate.
July 1974, the last juvenile institution was closed: a cottage at Lancaster
which housed 20 young women.
Thus was the Massachusetts juvenile prison system entirely dismantled.
The swift closing of institutions forced the development of dynamic alternatives
to meet the needs of the youngsters. The wide range of community programs
permitted enormous flexibility for program shifting. The administrative
system was decentralized, with seven regional offices set up to make all
decisions about individual youth placements and needs. Almost all services
for the juveniles were contracted from private agencies, resulting in the
creation of a wide range of community programs.
Volumes are being written about the "success" or "failure" of the experiment.
There is no doubt that data on recidivism, costs, efficiency and other
traditional measurements are important to final evaluations of the decarceration
of youth in Massachusetts. Nonetheless, for prison abolitionists, Miller's
very act of decaging and his willingness to take the risks involved, stands
as a symbol of daring and courage.

The Attica slaughter and the Massachusetts juvenile experiment occurred
in the same half-decade. One response, a symbol of the state's brute power
-elimination by death of prisoners and hostages. The other, a human response-elimination
of the cage for most of those caught in that system.

Abolitionist proposals
We advocate a program for decarceration with the goal of shrinking
the prison population as rapidly as possible.
We advocate a decarceration strategy which maximizes protection of
the public and also maximizes community-controlled services to releasees.
We advocate prompt cutting of ties to the criminal (in)justice systems,
including parole and probation, utilizing the services of community groups
on a contractual basis.
We advocate a working coalition between prison change and community
service groups to assure needed support and services in the community.
We advocate a maximum five year time-line for release of the first
95 percent of the present population in jails and prisons: at least 80
percent immediately and 15 percent gradually over the next five years,
and a ten year maximum time-line for releasing the balance of the population-based
on agreed upon criteria for settings and services.
Let us spell out in more detail our proposals for releasing those now
in prison:
Release immediately all pretrial detainees except those few who present
a serious threat to public safety.
Release immediately those who have served their minimum sentences or
are eligible for parole.
Release immediately those needing no supervsion or support services.
Release on a contractual basis to community groups and peer groups,
those who do not need supervision but who do need support and services;
the nature of these to be determined by the releasee.
Release those needing some supervision to parole officers who will
function as interim contractors for community-controlled services.
Release those needing close supervision to community support groups
on a one-to-one contractual basis.
Release those very few who are considered a public threat to small
secure settings for the least period of time (see Chapter 7).
Interim strategies
Beginning to identify the series of concrete acts and intermediate
campaigns that can lead to long range goals is a first step in planning
for decarceration. We caution strongly that all interim as well as long
range strategies be considered only after conferring with knowledgeable
prisoner and ex-prisoner groups. Interim policies crucially affect the
lives of prisoners still inside the system and many ex-prisoners on the
streets. What seems a paltry and therefore unacceptable change to those
outside the wall, might be a highly significant and desirable change for
those who are caged or under control in the streets. If there are differences
in strategies between prisoners who have experienced the day to day reality
of prisons and prison changers who have not, take the time to hammer out
differences and reach agreement. Strategies and tactics that are not in
unity weaken the total movement toward systems change.
Modes of decarceration
At least seven modes of decarcerating prison/jail populations can be
identified. Some are long range goals, which require interim strategies:
(1) Abolish the system of bail and with it pretrial detention for all
but the very few who, with predetermined criteria, could be considered
a threat to public safety. By this reform jail population could be reduced
approximately 50 percent.

(2) Abolish indeterminate sentencing and parole. This would drastically
cut down prison populations if definite, shorter sentences were imposed.
Over 140,000 incarcerated persons in federal and state prisons were eligible
for parole in 1975, but only an estimated 49,000 to 56,000 prisoners were
released on parole [4], leaving about 90,000 prisoners in cages who could
be on the street.

(3) Create a sentence review process to implement the release of the
majority of prison population to the community, utilizing contractual services
as needed.

The following modes of early release do not involve systems change but
are appropriate abolition strategies:

(4) Seek court orders ordering depopulation because of overcrowding
or other cruel and unusual conditions.

(5) Where prisoners request it, provide options for making restitution
to victimized parties in lieu of serving further time and use contracts
for negotiating conditions of early release.

(6) Audit prison populations to be sure all decriminalized offenses
are made retroactive thru initiating sentence reductions, class actions
or other means of redress.

(7) Educate prisoner legal advocates and others about procedures for
reduction of sentence, applying for executive clemency, pardon or reprieve
or how to establish the unconstitutionality of a case.

Abolition of indeterminate sentences & parole
Like most prison reforms, the indeterminate sentence adds to rather
than lessens the coercion of prison. For more than 60 years indeterminate
sentencing philosophy has dominated "correctional" policy and practice.
Based on the rehabilitative medical model which views the criminal as a
sick person who requires treatment until cured, it allows system functionaries
to obtain the widest possible discretion in order to be allowed sufficient
time to effect a "cure."
The change in sentencing law occurred with the introduction of rehabilitative
reforms and parole. Indeterminate sentences with minimum and maximum time,
replaced sentences with definite numbers of years to he served. For instance,
a person convicted of armed robbery who formerly might have received a
definite sentence of ten years, under an indeterminate sentence law might
receive "five to fifteen years"-a minimum term of five years before parole
eligibility and a maximum of 15 years imprisonment. In practice the judge
delegates an important portion of his penalty-fixing authority to the parole
board.

California and Washington have extreme forms of indeterminacy. In these
states the courts have little sentencing power apart from granting probation.
Almost every person sent to prison receives the maximum term prescribed
by the legislature for the offense. The parole board investigates and provides
a hearing for each prisoner during the first six months or year of confinement,
after which it announces the minimum term which the prisoner must serve
before parole will be considered.[5]

Indeterminate sentences unjust
According to one California ex-prisoners' group, [6] indeterminate
sentencing comes under widespread attack because it violates four basic
principles of justice:
(1) Lack of equity. Men and women do very different amounts of time
for commission of the same crime. No psychiatrist, ex-prison guard, or
any other human being can say with reasonable accuracy when a person is
"rehabilitated."

(2) Lack of predictability. The uncertainty in a prisoner's mind as
to when s/he will be released is a prime source of anxiety, frustration,
bitterness and violence in prisons.

(3) Length of time served. Under the indeterminate sentence law, terms
in California have lengthened. They are now among the longest served anywhere
in the world.

(4) Procedural due process. When decisions are being made affecting
a person's liberty, it is essential that the relevant evidence and arguments
be fairly tested for accuracy. Without procedures insuring due process,
it is unlikely the truth will be found.

Richard McGee, for 23 years director of the California Department of
Corrections and one of the strongest advocates of indeterminate sentencing
and the medical model, did a complete about face when he finally realized
its basic assumptions had been proven false. In an interview with an ex-prisoners'
group, he advocated abolishing indeterminate sentences along with parole
boards:

Those are the most radical things I've said in some time .... I was
an early advocate of the indeterminate sentence ... but I have reversed
myself completely .... We assumed we knew how to treat criminality but
we found out we don't know ... we let people believe that we know when
a prisoner should be let go.

The mistake made in pushing for indeterminate sentencing is that we
used a false analogy, a medical analogy. The assumption was that a prison
is like a hospital, where the inmate is cured and released when the doctors,
or the prison officials, say so. But prison officials don't cure prisoners
and it is the parole board, not the officials, who decide when a prisoner
is released ... the indeterminate sentence has proven out generally, to
mean an increased sentence, roughly 24 to 40 months more time, for the
prisoners ... with abolition of the indeterminate sentence and of the parole
board, we should give it all back to the courts who are equipped by training
to deal with it.

-The Outlaw, July 1974

Voices against indeterminacy
Many other prisoner-related groups and organizations advocate abolishing
indeterminate sentences and/or the present parole system. Among them:
ÒWhatever sanction or short sentence is imposed is to be fixed
by law. There is to be no discretion in setting sentences, no indeterminate
sentences, and unsupervised street release is to replace parole.Ó

-Struggle for Justice, p. 144

The Western Association of Prisons in America completed a four-day meeting
on September 16 with a call for the elimination of parole and use of the
indeterminate sentence. Any release from an institution should be "a complete
discharge, rather than a conditional release," stated the association.

Claiming the indeterminate sentence has left administrators with too
much discretion to authorize an individual's release, the association alleged
that it has "encouraged excessive and unequal confinement in the name of
treatment." To counteract the indeterminate sentence, the organization
called for a reduction in the maximum terms associated with some crimes
and advised that standards be set and adhered to.

-Free World Times, October 1973

Indeterminate sentences must be ended. Maintaining incarceration because
it is predicted that the prisoner presents some future danger must also
come to an end.

-Statement of Ex-Prisoners Advisory Group, Toward a New Corrections
Policy: Two Declarations of Principles

The indeterminate sentence has not had the salutary effects predicted.
Instead it has resulted in the exercise of a wide discretion without the
guidance of standards and in longer periods of time served in prison ....
There should, therefore, be strict limitations on the judicial and quasi-judicial
exercise of discretion in the fixing of terms of imprisonment; the definite
sentence would automatically eliminate administrative parole board procedures
which now consist largely of an untrammeled discretion which reduce prisoners
to little more than supplicants. The ultimate goal should be no indeterminacy
whatsoever in sentences.

-A Program for Prison Reform, p. 12

The interim or transitional replacements for the old systems of indeterminate
sentences and parole are crucial. Even minor legislative revisions to criminal
codes drastically affect the lives of millions of individuals who are caught
in the criminal (in)justice systems. Thus, proposed interim penal codes
must be carefully scrutinized and approved by those whose lives are directly
affected.

In 1975 there appeared to be a healthy movement developing toward abolishing
indeterminate sentences and parole. Examining some of the issues raised
by results in Maine and California helps us to define some of the paradoxes
and problems inherent in interim reforms.

Maine's new law
On June 18, 1975 after two years of extensive study and debate, Governor
James B. Longley signed a new criminal code into law, making Maine the
first state in the nation to abolish indeterminate sentences and parole.
[7] Acclaimed by reformists, the provisions of the oft-amended new code
took effect May 1, 1976.
Though reforms of this nature are usually associated with progressive
prison change groups, Maine's action was prompted in part by a backlash
against a liberal parole board that often released up to 97 percent of
the prisoners who appeared for their first parole hearing. Critics, reacting
with alarm to parole board leniency, accused the five-member panel of unilaterally
converting Maine's minimum/maximum sentences to straight minimum terms,
and releasing prisoners too soon. Thus, the handwriting was on the wall:
motivation for the new criminal code leaned toward making prisoners spend
more rather than less time in prison.

In the name of reform, Maine now has a determinate sentencing system
which is not determinate and an "abolished" parole that will continue to
see prisoners released into the community under some form of "correctional"
supervision. In return, it seems inevitable that prisoners will serve much
longer sentences.[8]
By examining some highlights of the new code we begin to perceive the
problems:

Judges must sentence to flat terms.
There will be no parole although the Department of Mental Health and
"Corrections" (DMHC) may allow a prisoner to return to the community under
work-or education-release programs.
Judges are given discretion to choose the terms and conditions of sentences.
They may select probation, fines, restitution, imprisonment or a combination
of these penalties.
Tho the Governor's Task Force asked for a maximum term of five years
for most offenses exclusive of murder, present maximum penalties are much
higher. Under the new code most crimes are assigned to one of five categories;
the sentencing judge must set a term within the limits of the category.
The maximum terms: for an A crime (for example, armed robbery), 20 years;
for a B crime (arson), ten years; a C crime (burglary), five years; a D
crime (possession of LSD), less than one year; and a class E crime (public
indecency), six months. Criminal homicide in the first degree carries a
mandatory life sentence. The earliest a lifer can he released, counting
good time, is after 25 years. Criminal homicide in the second degree requires
a minimum of 20 years imprisonment. Sixteen years must he served before
the court can be petitioned for release.
While parole board discretion is eliminated, judicial discretion remains.
Two persons who have committed the same crime might receive widely varying
sentences, and thus there is no guarantee that armed robbers will in fact
do more time than small-time burglars.
The prisons also retain considerable discretion under the new law because
"good time" is retained. That is, for good behavior-as defined by the prison-the
prisoner may be excused from serving up to one-third of the sentence. Another
area of discretion vested in the prisons is that of deciding which prisoners
will be allowed to take part in work-release or education-release programs.

Thus with the DMHC becoming a semi-parole agency, and-as prisoners and
ex-prisoners expect--Maine lawbreakers doing more prison time for the same
offense, the Maine reform "has failure built into it ... a sobering example
of what could go wrong" with a well-intentioned reform.[9]

The struggle in California
The history of California's determinate sentencing bill provides an
example of the level of persistent pressure required of prison change groups
if indeterminacy is to be abolished. Before it was signed into law in September,
1976, convicted felons received indefinite sentences of anywhere from one
to five years minimum up to life. Decisions rested with the Adult Authority,
which periodically reviewed male prisoners' applications for parole. In
all but a few instances, the law denied judges any authority to fix prison
terms. No other state required indeterminate sentencing for such a wide
range of crimes.
Indeterminate sentences in California applied to almost all felonies
except capital crimes, such as first-degree murder, for which the death
penalty or life imprisonment is mandatory. First-degree robbery, for instance,
was punishable by five years to life, first-degree burglary by one year
to life and second-degree burglary by one to 15 years.

As a consequence, the indeterminate sentence in California has been
under attack for a decade. It was cited as one of the major causes of uncertainty,
despair and violence among prisoners. The Adult Authority's parole decisions,
often reached in a 15 minute hearing, reflected the composition of the
board: ex-wardens, narcotic agents, retired district attorneys and police
officers.[10] The end result of a reform originally envisioned as a way
to decrease periods of incarceration was 24 to 40 months more time served.

Administrative decarceration
Beginning in April 1975, several factors produced a policy of massive
decarceration of felons from California prisons. The example is valuable
to abolitionists for at least two reasons: (1) It demonstrates that decarceration
as a process is realizable providing approval is forthcoming from those
who hold power in the criminal (in)justice systems; (2) It warns us that
when selective decarceration is dependent on the whims or preferences of
the powerful rather than on law, in the end equity and justice suffer.
After the California Supreme Court in several cases required the Adult
Authority to set primary terms and release dates, Governor Edmund Brown,
Jr. approved a new policy and the Adult Authority began setting firm release
dates for all 20,000 men (the policy did not affect women felons) in California
institutions. Supposedly, a prisoners' performance in institutional programs
would no longer have any bearing on release date.

The dates computed for the prisoners' release were based on elaborate
tables that detailed the time served for each category of offense over
the last several years. Once fixed by the agency, a prisoner's release
date would be adversely affected only if he became involved in a major
incident while in prison. [11]

In ten months, nearly 11,000 prisoners were released on parole, twice
the number set free in all of 1974. The short term impact of this plan
was a dramatic reduction in the size of the prison population, which had
swelled as a result of former Governor Reagan's policies. Some prison units
were closed down.

The decarceration policy was denounced by the state's Attorney General,
many district attorneys and police chiefs, the California "Correction"
Officers Association and several state legislators. They called for an
end to California's controversial indeterminate sentencing policy and a
return to fixed prison terms, as well as the abolition of the Adult Authority.
[12]

The depopulation created the false media impression that the indeterminate
sentence problem had been solved administratively. Actually, the Adult
Authority set terms many months higher than proposed legislation, Senate
Bill 42.

Decarceration thru legislation
Reforms in SB42 included shortened sentences, a focus on the crime
committed rather than on the lawbreaker and only a bare minimum of discretion
accorded to sentencing judges who would be required to specify why a particular
sentence was chosen. By no means a model sentencing act, prison changers
perceived SB42 as a realistic first step toward restructuring the penal
code and eliminating indeterminacy.
Finally carried over as "old business" into the 1976 legislature, the
bill was battered by a variety of amendments. For a while it seemed that
law enforcement lobbying and the political maneuverings of a presidential
election year would either bury the bill or wipe out the reforms the prison
change movement had struggled to attain.

But a healthy coalition of ex-prisoner and prison changers, publicly
challenged Governor Brown to meet a list of demands which restored most
of the original intent of the bill. Almost all of their demands were met.
Ex-prisoners predict it will take at least five years to determine whether
prisoners will actually serve less time under the law. But they point to
the relief prisoners will feel in knowing with certainty the length of
time they will serve, when they will be released and that parole need be
endured only for a maximum of one year.

Thus the brakes have been applied to unbridled discretion and the California
prison movement can begin working on the next legislative step toward further
reduction of penalties.

The legislative struggle is long and difficult. There are no simple
solutions to the problems involved with instituting reforms of sentencing
procedures and codes. Determinate sentences eventually will become a reality,
not only because conservatives, liberals and prison reformers are demanding
it, but because the overburdened system cannot handle the ever-growing
populations that have resulted from indeterminacy.

Tho the pace is slow, strong coalitions, careful campaign planning and
unified strategies can gradually reduce sentencing discretion and disparity.
But first, many questions must be answered: What kind of strategies build
a united movement? In this transitional stage where shall the lines be
drawn? What is a reasonable length for determined sentences? What compromises
in penal codes are acceptable? What if legislatures abolish parole but
institute longer flat sentences? What is our interim sentencing philosophy?

If prisoner-related groups coalesce and begin to find answers to these
questions, healthy coalitions for change can be formed.

An interim sentencing proposal
One California coalition has proposed a model sentencing law. Its strength
is its critique of California's present sentencing system. We regard it
as an exercise that all local groups should undertake, but we do not specifically
endorse all of its proposed recommendations.
The proposal limits sentences for all unviolent crimes on the basis
that long term incarceration has a damaging effect to both society and
the lawbreaker. Only in cases of serious bodily harm do proposed sentences
exceed two years. The plan moves toward the restraint of state power, equality
in sentencing and the redefinition of some crimes so that sentencing can
reflect the degree of harm done. This proposal can serve as an example
of how an interim model can be structured. Local groups working to abolish
indeterminate sentencing and parole can alter it to suit their own needs.[13]

ARTICLE IV. SENTENCING CATEGORIES

Section 1. All existing felony offenses shall be redefined as necessary
and divided into the following categories.

(A) Category II felonies shall include the following types of crimes:
(1) Intentional homocide in which provocation is inadequate to reduce the
crime to manslaughter.

(2) Extremely serious assaults with intent to kill or in which bodily
harm occurs such as:
(a) Assault with intent to murder.
(b) Assault in which serious bodily harm occurs.
(c) Robbery or Burglary in which serious bodily harm occurs.
(d) Forcible rape in which serious bodily harm, other than the rape,
occurs.

(3) Acts committed for profit which place the victim in danger of death
or serious bodily harm for an extended period of time such as:

(a) Kidnapping for ransom or robbery.
(b) The sentence for Category II felonies shall be three (3) years.

Section 5. CATEGORY IV

(A) Category IV felonies shall include the following types of crimes:

(1) Non-premeditated homocides such as:
(a) Intentional homocide while under the influence of a sudden, intense
and violent emotional reaction to seriousprovocation.

(b) Homocide by criminal negligence. (2) Felony acts where the potential
for serious bodily harm or death is high.

(a) Assault with a deadly weapon.
(b) Armed robbery.
(c) Forcible rape.
(d) Kidnapping other than for profit in which there is danger of death
or bodily harm to the victim.

(B) The sentence for Category IV felonies shall be two (2) years.

Section 6. CATEGORY V

(A) Category V felonies shall include the following types of crimes:

(1) Acts committed for profit in which there is potential for bodily
harm such as:
(a) Unarmed robbery.
b) Burglary I.

(2) Sexual acts by an adult with a minor which have potential for serious
harm to the minor, such as:

(A) Category VIII offenses shall be decriminalized. They shall include,
but not be confined to, the following:

(1) The use and possession of controlled substances.

(2) All private consenting sexual acts between adults.

(3) Acts which are offensive but not directly harmful to others, such
as indecent exposure.

An interim parole proposal
Given choice, abolitionists would much prefer to immediately eliminate
the present sentencing structure, abolish criminal law and create a nonpunitive
reconciliatory system for resolving violent collective and individual behavior.
Tinkering with a destructive, grossly unfair and damaging system of criminal
law can be fraught with contradictions and danger. But the task of abolitionists
is to begin where we are and move toward our long range goals. Interim
sentencing strategies are based on the present reality of the major intent
of sentencing-punishment and retribution. Given this harsh truth-how do
we move toward our vision? We see structural and judicial restraints and
uniformity in levying sanctions as crucial next steps if we wish to affect
a system that is unrestrained and discretionary. Gradually reducing sanctions
even while advocating their abolition is not contradictory if we continue
to reduce until they are eliminated. Model sentencing acts like the one
above, are beginnings, not ends, and are companion acts to creating community
alternatives.
Like abolition of indeterminate sentences, abolition of parole is a
long range systems change goal, requiring a series of short term recommendations.
The abolition of parole will not prove beneficial to prisoners, unless
it is coupled with much shorter sentences.

No matter how much money you spend on the parole board and parole system,
it still is going to be a failure, because it attempts to do something
which cannot be done. I would save money in this instance by eliminating
the parole board as it functions today.
-Charles Goodell, testimony before U.S. Congress, subcommittee of Judiciary,
1972

Parole abolition is among the most common demands of prison change groups.
Among them, The Citizens' Inquiry on Parole and Criminal Justice, in their
300-page comprehensive Report on New York Parole [14] declare parole to
be baseless in theory, "a tragic failure" in practice. They find no substantial
evidence that risk-predictions on which parole release decisions are based
are reliable. They document instances of serious injustice and sometimes
public harm, leading them to recommend the ultimate abolition of parole.
Subsequently, The Citizens Inquiry prepared A Proposed Interim Parole
System for the State of New York. [15] This series of short term recommendations
can prove useful until long range goals are attainable. While not a prison
abolition document, portions are worthwhile for abolitionists to examine.

The interim system is presented in a form from which legislation can
easily be drafted and has three general aims:

To structurally reduce arbitrariness and injustice and make more visible
the exercise of discretionary power in parole release and supervision.
To eliminate prediction as the rationale for decision making in parole
release and supervision.
To strengthen the capacity of parole to provide concrete, useful supportive
services to parolees seeking to live a crime free life after release from
prison.
In brief, The Citizens' Inquiry believes that prison release should
be nondiscretionary and post release services should be provided without
coercive supervision. "But this outcome," the interim report states, "can
only be achieved when certain principles . . . become axiomatic: that imprisonment
is brutal enough punishment to be justly imposed only for short, definite
periods; and that the best function for parole officers is as counselors,
community resources and brokers of services which help restore to normality
lives disrupted by the process set in motion by criminal conviction."
Further, the report establishes procedures for release on parole, placing
the burden on the parole board to demonstrate why a prisoner should not
be paroled on the earliest possible date. It specifically prohibits denial
of parole on the following grounds:

Because of circumstances or details of any crime for which sentence
has been passed in a court of law or for which the prisoner has never been
convicted.
Because of circumstances or details of previous parole revocations.
Because of nonparticipation in prison programs.
Because of conduct within the prison which is not an indictable crime
or which has resulted in the loss of good time.
Parole should last no more than one year or, under rare conditions,
a maximum of two years. Parole supervision may be lightened if the parolee
is doing well. Or it may be intensified short of parole revocation if more
supervision is called for. A support fund is created to provide social
services for the parolee. Procedures for parole revocation are spelled
out.
The Citizens' Inquiry estimates that their program could be implemented
six months after enabling legislation was passed and would result in financial
savings the first year "in the millions of dollars."

Rooted in the reality of the present political climate, the proposal
provides a detailed guideline for prisoners and parolees rights. Tho abolitionists
are unlikely to be enthusiastic about the entire interim parole proposal,
it provides a comprehensive overview of issues that must be considered
in a transitional period and can be adapted to fit local needs.

Prisoners view parole
The parole board is a failure. The parole system is a failure. Parole
is part of the indeterminate and the "reformatory" sentencing structure
which must be abolished. Every prisoner knows that parole is a major coercive
factor in prison life. In the long range, prisoners want the parole system
abolished. But most prisoners will not support abolition of parole until
sentences are drastically reduced to short flat terms. For those presently
imprisoned, parole, with all its many drawbacks, represents one of the
few alternatives to the cageÑthe way out. "Anything that tended
to shorten the time one spent behind the walls [is] a step in the right
direction." [16]
As decarceration modes are implemented, substantial numbers of released
prisoners will require community support and resources of an unparalleled
nature. When street parole is used as a vehicle for early release, abolitionists
support community-controlled parole, joining with The Action Committee
of Walpole State Prison:

Parole should be phased out. Community control parole should be established.
The phase-out of the prisons will perhaps mean, in practical terms, an
increase in parole for a while, but it should only be for the interim.

If parole must be used-and it most likely will in any penal phase-out-it
should be staffed principally with real community people. There must be
in this the same basic interchange and input of community as there is in
all workable correctional programs.

--NEPA News, April/May 1975

Sentence review process
Once a decision is reached to begin decarcerating the majority of prisoners,
a process will have to be devised for enacting full sentence review and
release powers. Guaranteeing equal justice and due process, a sentence
review and release process could be accomplished thru executive, administrative,
judicial or legislative power or a combination of those forces.
While each state or the federal system would probably devise a different
decarceration process, national organizations such as the American Bar
Association, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and a coalition
of ex-prisoner groups could lend impetus to the movement to decarcerate
by designing a variety of workable models.

Amendments already have been recommended to empower appeals courts to
review sentences arid to modify or set them aside for further proceedings.[17]
Similar amendments could extend the powers of the appellate courts to review
and reduce sentences, releasing prisoners to the community. Sentences could
be litigated as excessive, as unequal, or on similar grounds. Criteria,
guidelines and procedures for review and release would be carefully determined,
especially those governing the few who could be considered a threat.

Relieve prison overcrowding
All over the United States, prisons are bursting at their seams. As
of January 1, 1976 approximately 250,000 people were in state and federal
prisons and the nations' jails were filled to overflowing. This is an 11
percent increase over the previous year's population, the largest one year
rise on record and the highest population ever.
It may well be that the crisis of overpopulation will dramatize the
dilemma for states and taxpayers, forcing a choice between the bankrupting
costs of imprisonment and a coherent policy of reducing prison populations.
As stated by William D. Leeke, Director of the Southern Carolina Department
of Corrections, "Many of you won't like this but the hard line on law enforcement
is forcing us into more liberal policies. You can only cram so many people
into prison." [18]

Overcrowded conditions, particularly in southern states, have precipitated
a number of legal orders, formal and informal administrative actions and
liberalized parole procedures to reduce prison populations. Such actions
demonstrate and reveal existing mechanisms for depopulation.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, for instance, due to a crisis
in overcrowding, ordered reduced sentences for 5,000 of the state's 11,000
inmates. Sentences were reduced by an average of six months for most prisoners
serving time for property or other unviolent crimes such as theft or burglary.
Approximately 500 prisoners were rapidly freed and all 5,000 will benefit
from accelerated early release under the order.
To relieve overcrowding, South Carolina is making use of its Youthful
Offenders Act of 1968,a law allowing early release of 17-thru 21-year olds
by shortening each sentence on an average of three months.
In North Carolina, the General Assembly adopted legislation requiring
the early parole of all misdemeanants with less than a one year sentence
unless there was "reasonable probability" the parole would be violated
or the release would be "incompatible with the welfare of society."
In Alabama, the executive director of the Parole Board said the Board
was releasing "borderline cases." [20]
At a January 1976 meeting "Crisis in Corrections," sponsored by the
Southern Governors Conference, a task force of southern prison officials
recommended a broad program of liberal reform to relieve the crisis of
prison overcrowding. The recommendations included the following decarceration
statement: "Efforts should be made to examine current inmate populations
and determine those inmates, not a threat to the community, who could be
released from institutional settings. " [21]
The issue of overcrowding has increased the use of other excarcerating
practices such as judges suspending or reducing sentences and the use of
alternatives to prison. These include probation, restitution and programs
that divert first offenders out of the criminal (in)justice systems into
work and educational-release programs. [2 2]

These preliminary responses to overcrowding, clearly indicate the systems'
potential for decarceration when conditions force such action.

Recent rulings of federal judges to reduce prison populations offer
some potential for depopulation thru the legal route. Arkansas, Alabama,
Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi are under court order to reduce crowding
and relieve other problems. Similar suits are pending in Tennessee and
more litigation is expected.

The strongest ruling so far occurred in Alabama [23] after two federal
judges in August 1975 ordered state prison officials not to accept any
new prisoners other than escapees or parole violators until the prison
population was reduced from the 50 percent above design capacity level.
Incorporating that ruling, in January 1976, federal Judge Frank M. Johnson,
Jr. handed down, for the first time, a comprehensive set of minimum constitutional
standards that must be maintained for the operation of a state prison.
Ruling that mere confinement in the Alabama system violated the 8th Amendment
(cruel and unusual punishment), he set 44 guidelines to require a graduated
reduction of 50 percent while doubling the prison staff. He also indicated
that if physical conditions in the state's four main penal institutions
were not corrected within a year, he might close them.

The judge's order set further precedents by creating an enforcement
mechanism-a citizen's review board to monitor improvements and report to
the court. Moreover, he warned state officials that they could be held
personally liable for monetary damages if they failed to comply.

How far the court will go in forcing depopulation is difficult to access.
Alvin Bronstein, American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project's
lawyer who assisted in litigating the Alabama suit, "hopes that in the
Alabama case the judge will ultimately find the conditions so intolerable,
and so expensive to remedy, that he will order at least two of the state's
prisons closed and the inmates released .... [He] admits that even if that
happened, it would be a rare case." [2 4]

Abolitionists can provide and stimulate needed community support for
favorable judges and other decision makers. Additionally, we can bring
legal prisoner-advocates together with prisoners who wish to file actions
against prison conditions caused by overcrowding and other oppressive situations.
The creation of re-entry support groups and services in the community will
also encourage depopulation.

Restitution to victims
Restitution to victims is a promising concept, but prison setting hampers
its most compelling aspects. For restitution to be creative and reconciliatory,
the following conditions are important:
Restitution should be truly voluntary.
Restitution should occur in the community to bring the wronged and
the wrongdoer together.
Restitution should lessen the desire for vengeance and encourage reconciliation.
It is difficult if not impossible to attain these conditions within
the criminal (in)justice systems. Thus, current restitution programs for
those already imprisoned fall far short of the ideal. But since a growing
number of prisoners regard restitution as an opportunity for "a way out
of the joint," it should be seriously examined as a decarcerating mechanism.
Many reformers see parole/restitution programs as a first step. They
look forward to fuller utilization of the concept when citizens and systems
gradually become educated to the use of restitutive alternatives.

As it presently operates, restitution involves triple jeopardy: the
wrong is paid for by serving time, by fulfilling "treatment" requirements
and by paying money. No doubt, some intended lessons are learned, some
new insights occur to both victim and victimizer-hut these beneficial side
effects are coincidental.

Data indicating how many prisoners would be willing to make restitution
is limited. A study of 88 prisoners in Florida in 1962 was limited to those
who had committed major violent crimes. [25] Of those convicted of aggravated
assault, 54.5 percent indicated willingness to make restitution; theft
with violence, 55.4 percent; and criminal homicide, 94.7 percent. Many
of those convicted of criminal homicide were on death row, so they might
have felt drawn to restitution due to the proximity of death. On the other
hand, many of those convicted of assault and theft indicated that they
felt they were already paying for their wrongdoing by imprisonment.

Minnesota, Georgia, Oregon, Massachusetts and Iowa are experimenting
with restitution programs inside their criminal (in)justice systems. The
idea is beginning to grow as a "correctional" concept and the restitution
programs do not seem to lack candidates.

The Minnesota Restitution Center
More than 100 prisoners participated in the first restitution contract
program at the Minnesota Restitution Center. [26] During its first three
years, they repaid $16,000 to 300 victims of their crimes. Originally started
in 1972 with a LEAA grant, it is presently funded by the state of Minnesota
and housed on several floors of a downtown YMCA in Minneapolis.
The Minnesota Corrections Authority, the state's parole agency, screens
those who will be paroled to the center. Because screening is strict, the
center often operates below its capacity of 22 places. "Professional" criminals,
violent criminals and those who used weapons are excluded from the program.

Let's reduce the damage to the offender by not putting him in prison
or getting him out now and use the money to compensate his victim, if there
is one. Such a plan would reduce the thirst of the victim, and the mass
of potential victims that makes up the citizenry, for retribution. It therefore
leaves both the offender and the victim in a healthier state while reducing
crime.
-Robert Martinson, Depopulating the Prison, p. 18

All screening, interviewing, meetings with victims and writing of restitution
contracts takes place during the first four months of a prisoner's incarceration.
A staff member of the center accompanies the prisoner to the parole board
hearing, presents the proposed contract and a request for his release to
the center. The contract is technically a list of special parole conditions.
It is signed by the prisoner, his victim(s), two members of the parole
board and a center staff member. If the contract is violated, parole is
revoked and he is sent back to prison.
As restitution contracts were originally conceived, the only criterion
for participation was justice: the victim would receive restitution for
the loss suffered. No other rehabilitative demands were to be made on prisoners.
However, the center now includes a variety of "treatment" programs, from
a multilevel behavior modification plan to transactional therapy groups.
The parole board often insists that Alcoholics Anonymous or drug counseling
be part of the contract.

Prisoners proceed thru four phases at the center, acquiring more personal
freedom with each step. After the first week they can stay in their own
homes overnight or on weekends and the final phase can take place as early
as three months after making contract. Prisoners can then be released from
the center to the street and continue to make restitution while on parole.

Groups of residents initially awarded privileges, but now they are made
by staff members. Since staff considers prisoners at the center to be "nuisances"
to society, rather than violent threats, prisoners are given a great deal
of personal freedom. Director Robert Mowatt asks, "What great horrendous
thing has a guy who's passed $100 in bad checks done that says he is totally
unsafe to be walking around the streets?"

Tho the original concept was to have the prisoner face his victim and
get the personal satisfaction of directly addressing the wrong he committed
thru cash payment, many contracts are now negotiated by parole counselors.
Prisoners are encouraged to make the first payment in person, but even
this is not required. Succeeding payments are generally made by mail.

When meetings do occur between victims and prisoners, often they are
surprisingly cordial and dramatic. Many victims are strong supporters of
the restitution concept.

The amount of restitution paid has ranged from $15 to over $2,000, with
the average restitution contract about $250. Monthly payments average $25.

During the first years, 26 percent of the men left the program. About
half had new felony indictments, tho no one was accused of a violent crime.
The other half violated terms of their parole. Often this was because they
were unable to keep a job and thus failed to make their restitution payments.

Critics of the program point to problems of equal justice and due process.
The program is open only to those selected by the parole board, not to
all who have committed the same kinds of crimes. Additionally, the program
does not establish the principle of restitution, but merely deals with
prisoners on a one-by-one basis.

Advocates of the program point out that any program instituted now has
to fit into existing structures and limitations. They see it as a crusade:
Until this first experimental test proves itself, they'll continue to structure
the program to get as many prisoners out as possible. People with five
to ten year sentences can be home in four months under parole supervision.

Abolitionists advocate shifting responsibility for parole restitution
contracts from "correction" departments to the community. Third parties
can bring victims and wrongdoers together with the goal of reconciliation.
Further, a system of vouchers could provide for purchase of needed services
and resources from community groups, thereby preserving the restitution
focus of the program and preventing its shift into a "treatment" oriented
vehicle.

Parole contracts
The use of parole contracts has spread thru the "correctional" systems
with startling speed. In one year, Mutual Agreement Programming (MAP) [27]
grew from use in three states to ten, with many more contemplating its
use:
Maryland, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and Wisconsin are using MAP contracts.
Delaware, New Jersey and South Carolina are working to start programs.
The basic ingredient of MAP is a written, legally binding contract
between the prisoner, the prison and the parole authority. Contracts vary
but all set a fixed parole date contingent upon certain behavior. Other
usual features in MAP contracts include:
Face to face negotiations take place between the prisoner, the prison
and the parole authority. Often the prisoner is aided in these negotiations
by an advocate.
An "outside party" is given responsibility to determine whether a contract
has been fulfilled. Arbitration is provided for, should problems arise.
Measurable goals for the prisoner are spelled out in such areas as
education, vocational training, counseling and prison behavior. Corresponding
guarantees are made by the prison to supply the needed programs and services.
Prisoners who withdraw or who fail to meet contract terms revert to
the regular parole process. In some states contracts can be renegotiated.
Contracts are generally for about six months.
In some states the contracts provide for an earlier release date than
would be likely under the regular parole process. In other states the release
date is set by law.
Maryland has combined contract parole with a voucher system for all
women prisoners. They may get up to $3,000 in vouchers to buy services,
largely outside the prison, that are needed to complete their contracts.
In Massachusetts contracts are tied to restitution for the victim of
a prisoner's crime; the victim helps negotiate the parole restitution contract,
which includes a provision for payments that begin when the prisoner is
on work-release.

North Carolina's contracts are signed by furniture manufacturers who
promise to hire prisoners who complete a course in furniture making.

MAP has attracted a wide spectrum of critics. Administrators are criticized
for using MAP to impose arbitrary and senseless requirement upon prisoners.
Parole officials sometimes oppose the program for fear their discretionary
powers will erode. Some state attorneys advise against the program because
of the possibility of lawsuits over contracts.

In a candid evaluation of the MAP program [29] in three states, published
in 1975, James Robison concluded:

At release, prisoners judged that MAP had provided them the greatest
service thru more certainty of release, helping them plan for it and the
opportunity for earlier release. They felt there was little difference
in improved staff interest, access to prison programs or quality of those
programs.
Contract cancellations were almost always the result of disciplinary
infractions rather than the prisoners' failure to satisfy work or training
requirements; prisoner withdrawals were rare.
There was no significant difference on time served in prisons, success
in acquiring or holding employment, or recidivism within six months after
release for those participating in MAP programs.
The most obvious drawback to the model, as now in operation, is its
vulnerability to coercive and discriminatory applications. Further safeguards,
such as more adequate arrangements for appeal, should be considered.
If the trappings of "rehabilitation" and "correctional" gimmickry can
be divorced from the program, MAP can be viewed as an interim procedure
for reducing indeterminacy in sentencing. The contract forces the parole
board to set a release date and in some cases this can mean earlier release.
As Robison suggests, a collective extension of the concept of contracts
could institute prisoner unions inside prisons, bringing about authentic
bargaining power.
Fred Cohen, [30] in his perceptive foreword to the MAP evaluation report,
speaks for abolitionists when he says:

The conceptual seeds for some reform may be here. The very notion of
a prisoner, not long ago described as a slave of the state, sitting down
to negotiate a type of performance contract can be viewed as having considerable
ameliorative potential. Making such a program truly voluntary would enhance
the appeal. If certainty on time served is not to be achieved at the time
of judicial sentencing ... then post-sentencing certainty may be the best
we can get.

7. Material on Maine based on information printed in Corrections Magazine,
July/August 1975, pp. 16-17 and Labyrinth, September 1975 and telephone
interview with Attorney General's office August 10, 1976. For a copy of
the new law, see Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, effective March 1, 1976
(St. Paul, Minnesota, West Publishing, 1975).

8. Labyrinth, September 1975.

9. Ibid.

10. Report on the Community Conference. American Friends Service Committee,
Pasadena, California, June 1975.

11. Corrections Magazine, July/ August 1975.

12. New York Times, December 14, 1975.

13. Coordinating Council of Prisoner Organizations, Determined Sentencing
Proposal, published in January 1975. Available from the council, 1251 2nd
Ave., San Francisco, California, 94122, for 25 cents.

14. Published as Prisons without Walls: Report on New York Parole (New
York, Prager, 1975).

15. Prepared by Donald Auspitz, available from Citizens Inquiry on Parole
and Criminal Justice, Inc., 84 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10011.

17. Gerhard O.W. Mueller, "Imprisonment and its Alternatives," in A
Program for Prison Reform, p. 43: "The Report of the National Commission
on Reform of Federal Criminal Laws recommends an amendment of 28 U.S.C.
1291 by clearly giving courts of appeals the power to review sentences
and to modify them or to set them aside for further proceedings. This recommendation
is in accordance with the recommendations of the ABA and IJA Minimum Standards
of Criminal Justice Project."

26. Information in this section from Corrections Magazine, January/February
1975 and March 1976. Also panel discussions at First National Conference
on Alternatives to Incarceration, September 1975, Boston, Massachusetts.

27. Corrections Magazine, September/October 1975.

28. Ibid. Information in this section from materials included in Corrections
article, and "An experimental research and demonstration project, funded
by the Manpower Administration, U.S. Department of Labor," Parole Corrections
Project, American Correctional Association, College Park, Maryland.

29. James O. Robison, MAP Markers: Research and Evaluation of the Mutual
Agreement Program, American Correctional Association, College Park, Maryland,
1975.

30. Fred Cohen is currently Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, S.U.N.Y.
at Albany, School of Criminal Justice.